Lisa-Maria Kamysz, a student on the Information and Communication Design degree programme, has been recognised at the Art Directors Club Junior Competition for her bachelor’s thesis, ‘Uneo – Approaching Cultures through a Modular Stool System’. She has now been awarded a gold prize in the Communication Design: Corporate Design category.
As part of her bachelor’s thesis entitled ‘Uneo – Approaching Cultures through a Modular Stool System’, student Lisa-Marie Kamysz developed the ‘Uneo’ modular stool system. It is based on traditional stool designs and allows for the individual combination of design languages from around the world. The student submitted this creative idea, including a comprehensive brand development programme ranging from branding to corporate design, to the Art Directors Club’s Junior Competition. For her outstanding work, she was awarded a gold medal in the Communication Design: Corporate Design category.
The Art Directors Club (ADC) Junior Competition is one of the most important creative competitions in Europe. It offers up-and-coming creatives the best opportunity to make a name for themselves. Junior participants may enter the competition with semester projects, final-year projects or practical work in the main categories: Experimental Design, Communication Design, Craft, Digital Media, Audiovisual Communication and Editorial. Each entry may only be submitted once. All entries submitted to the ADC Junior Competition are assessed by the judges of the ‘main’ ADC Competition.
The jury had particular words of praise for the boundary-pushing nature of Kamysz’s work: “When product design becomes corporate design, when both have been reinvented and when both are a natural fit and complement each other, the result is a piece of work that truly sets new standards in its category. Uneo explores the cultural history of seating and, through skilful combination, creates a completely new product family. At the same time, it gives rise to a visual system that could not be more iconic. A fantastic final-year project! And hopefully on the market soon.”
The ‘Uneo’ modular concept allows customers to combine the design languages of different countries in ever-changing ways, thereby creating bespoke stools. For example, a Chinese-inspired seat can be combined with an African-style base. The result is not only a series of stools, but also a subtle call for cultural exchange.
Kamysz describes ‘Uneo’ as a range of extraordinary pieces of furniture. The products blend influences from different cultures and breathe new life into forgotten aesthetics in a modern form. In this way, the ‘intercultural’ stools are intended to demonstrate how well seemingly contrasting perspectives can complement one another and to symbolise the convergence of two cultures. The bachelor’s thesis was supervised by Professor Christoph Zielke, Professor of Media Design and Head of the Information and Communication Design programme. “Lisa-Maria Kamysz has developed an impressive, integrative piece of work that extends far beyond the boundaries of traditional communication design,” emphasises Professor Zielke.
